Rain ruins dead rubber at Whitgift School

Surrey reached 189-5 before rain forced the abandonment of their FP Trophy fixture against Sussex at Whitgift School.

The runs had flowed either side of a rain delay that saw the game initially reduced to 28 overs per side.

Scott Newman (45), Usman Afzaal (43) and Jonathan Batty (36no) all made rapid contributions to lead the hosts into a strong position.

Afzaal's 21-ball knock included four successive sixes off fast bowler Raheb Aga (3-53), who had earlier claimed three wickets in seven balls.

But the rain returned again after 24 overs of Surrey's innings and umpires Graham Burgess and Barry Dudleston eventually called off proceeding just after 6.30pm when it became clear there was no prospect of a resumption.

Both sides came into the final match of the group stage already eliminated from the competition. Sussex ended rock-bottom of the South/East Division table with just one victory, while Surrey finished in third spot with three wins.

Earlier, Sussex captain Chris Adams had to leave the field after losing a fingernail attempting to catch James Benning in the slips. He is expected to be fit for Sussex's Championship game against Durham, which starts on Friday.